


Nanotransmitters and Poster Tubes

by valantha



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Mission Fic, Science, Undercover, mini-Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 03:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1250632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valantha/pseuds/valantha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitzsimmons and Ward infiltrate a scientific convention to bug one of Dr. Quinn’s associates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nanotransmitters and Poster Tubes

“… But what should I wear? Do I have to get a tweed jacket or an argyle sweater like Fitzsimmons? Or maybe a pocket protector?” Ward asked with a touch of exasperation in his voice.

Coulson just smiled placidly, as he was want to do.

Fitz grumped about how tweed was a perfectly serviceable fabric, and Jemma felt the need to step in before the argument got too heated, “Almost anything would work from business formal to a wrinkled and stained button-down with Chuck Taylors. Scientists are a diverse bunch. But if you want to attract the least amount of attention, business casual would be the way to go.”

Ward went off to prepare for his part of the Op and Jemma tugged Fitz back to the lab to put the finishing touches on their cover. They – accompanied by Ward since ‘the kids’ were no longer allowed into the field without a field-certified agent – were going to infiltrate a scientific convention and attempt to bug one of Dr. Quinn’s associates.

Jemma was going to present a poster on her research from a few years ago on a dendrotoxin derivative with a mild sedative effect on mice. Fitz was going to present a poster on a way to improve the efficiency of solar panels by 7% by altering the Si dopants to adjust for the effect the latitude of instillation would have on the solar radiation spectrum – a project he worked on when he needed to bore himself asleep. Ward was just going to wander around the poster session and attempt to not get cornered by any over-zealous chemists.

With luck, Dr. Stokes would visit one or more of their posters and they’d be able to dust his palm with Fitz’ nanotransmitters during the standard handshake. Without luck, well, then they’d have to try and glad-hand him right after the plenary talk. Either way, Jemma was happy to get to go to the International Chemical Society meeting. She hadn’t been to that meeting since grad school, and it was always nice to get back to her basic science roots. As much as she liked working on applied science (and saving the world) with Fitz, puzzling out an answer just for the sake of knowledge was fabulous.

* * *

Jemma glanced in the mirror, tucking a stray strand of hair back into her chignon. She straightened out her collar and grabbed her poster tube. It contained her real poster with real data, but also some super-secret spy stuff too. She told herself that she didn’t really need to fret as she was going undercover as herself. Sure she was presenting old data, and using her middle name, but she was just going as herself from a parallel universe. One where she preferred the common ‘Elizabeth’ to Jemma, one where she wasn’t fast-tracked through school.

Jemma pushed open the bathroom door and was greeted by a cacophony of science. Gripping the invaluable poster tube tightly, she threaded her way through the mingling chemists, careful not to nock anyone - or anyone’s drink - with the tube.

On her way to the biochemistry area, she waved at Fitz in the inorganic chemistry session. He was explaining his data to a trio – one in the full business suit of an industry scientist – so he was doing well.

Once Jemma reached the biochemistry area, she put her poster up in B209. SHIELD had ensured that this particular woman -  one Elizabeth Simmons - was not going to make it to the conference. Her plane was forced to land in Anaheim, and she had been given a free three-day pass to Disneyland by a SHIELD agent playing a frazzled mother of twin toddlers. Jemma’s - or rather Elizabeth’s - poster wasn’t going to match the subject in the abstract book, but it wasn’t the first time someone changed what they were going to present in the three months after abstract submission. And almost no one read the whole abstract book anyways.

* * *

“…now in Jansek’s recent Nature paper they clearly showed…”

Jemma caught Ward’s form weaving through the crowd and she shot him a panicked, but not too panicked, ‘help me’ but not a ‘shoot him’ look. Or at least she _hoped_ her look conveyed all that information. Apparently some people did read the abstract book and one was personally affronted by the subject change. And Jemma didn’t know enough about ESI MS to debate this man.

“Dr. Simmons? Is that you?” Ward said, hand outstretched for shaking – good, he had understood her look – “It’s nice to finally put a face to a name.”

Jemma gratefully shook his hand and heartily thanked him for sending her his Lentivirus strain. They kept up the charade – Jemma doing most of the legwork – until they drove Dr. Annoying away.

“Phew, thank you Ward. I didn’t know how to get rid of him,” Jemma explained unnecessarily.

Ward just shrugged, tapped his ear to remind her that she _was_ on coms, and turned back to wander the floor.

Jemma grabbed her water bottle and took a swig, careful not to accidentally trigger the nanotransmitter delivery mechanism.

Jemma talked some more science with two graduate students whose posters were sadly under-attended, and then she heard Ward’s voice buzz in her ear.

“The target is heading towards the biochemistry section. Please be advised,” Ward said.

Jemma tried to bring her poster explanation to a rapid conclusion, and the girls wandered off after a bit.

Jemma stood beside her poster, trying not to look too nervous or too bored, a little bit of nervousness or boredom would be perfectly normal standing at an unattended poster during a poster session, but too much, well, that might be bad.

She watched Dr. Stokes wander around the posters.

She started to perspire.

She started to fiddle with the water bottle still being careful not to accidently trigger the nanotransmitter delivery mechanism.

Ward – still wandering around appearing to check out the posters – gave her a small ‘simmer down’ gesture. Jemma took a deep breath and attempted to do as instructed. It didn’t really work, but she tried.

Dr. Stokes paused and looked at poster three slots away, and then he made his way over to her poster. Jemma gulped down her anxiety and began explaining her data to Dr. Stokes. In the middle of explaining her old northern blot data she pressed the small button on the bottom of the water bottle, spraying a fine mist of aerosolized nanotransmitters onto her hands.

He didn’t notice.

Jemma talked her way through the rest of her poster and then faux-awkwardly realized she hadn’t introduced herself and shook his hand before he left to investigate another poster.

**Mission Accomplished.**

Jemma floated through the rest of the poster session high on success. After she rolled up and put away her poster, she had to restrain herself from literally skipping out of the ballroom.

Jemma was going to go find Fitz and crow about her success, but ran into Ward in the hallway first.

“That was thrilling!” She let herself say, knowing that anyone overhearing would just assume it was her first big poster session, or that she’d meet a Nobel Laureate.

“Yeah. You did a good job at your poster. You should tell me more about it later,” Ward replied with a small encouraging smile.

Jemma nodded and put on her “serious face” only to have the mask fall as soon as Fitz worked his way over to their patch of convention center hallway.

Fitz was looking a bit glum, but between Jemma’s broad grin and thumbs-up signal, he brightened.

Once they made it to the safety of the Short Bus, and Fitz checked that the nanotransmitters were working, Jemma let out a girlish squeal.

“It worked, nobody got hurt, and I didn’t have to shoot any one! That was so **amazing**!” Jemma enthused.

Fitz smiled back with a slightly superior smile and Jemma thwaped him with her poster tube.

“I just hope this’ll get us somewhere with Centipede, and isn’t another dead end,” Ward added practically, which effectively put a damper on their high spirits.


End file.
